The Difficulty With Diplomacy
by anachronisticgazelle
Summary: A modern day AU. Arthur is the son of a diplomat and Gwen is a housekeeper in the hotel where a conference is being held in France. Their meeting is short but what happens after the conference is over?
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello! Yikes, my first ever fic! It's been a while since I wrote anything so I thought this might be a good way to get back into it. I'm having a lot of fun writing this so far so I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

><p><em>Do cities never stop<em>? Arthur thought as he listened to the traffic go by outside his hotel room window. Ordinarily he would be used to it but after a full day of work and then all the hassle of their flight from London getting delayed, he just wanted the noise to go away.

"Well, this place has…charm," Merlin said as he entered the room. Arthur rolled his eyes; trust Merlin to still be going after a day like today. "What do you think, should we check it out?"

Arthur sighed. "We have a lot of work to do Merlin, there's no time for harassing the hotel staff." They had four meetings with different diplomatic groups tomorrow and if Arthur wasn't prepared his father would have his head. Groaning, Arthur shifted from the bed to the table where Merlin was already laying out the files they would need.

"So first, we are meeting with the French, as they are hosting, and…" As Merlin went on, Arthur settled back into his chair. This was going to be a very long night.

* * *

><p>Sunlight was already streaming through the gauzy curtains when Arthur woke. He rolled over to check the clock. 8:35.<p>

"Merlin!" Arthur threw his pillow across the room to hit Merlin square in the face.

"Hm wha-what?"

"It's eight thirty. We're late!" Arthur snapped as he ran to jump in the shower. They had twenty minutes to make it to the meeting or he would be off the project and sent back to London that afternoon. As this was the first diplomatic conference that he had been invited to outside of the UK, he was determined not to mess anything up.

By some miracle both Arthur and Merlin made it to the ballroom set up for the meeting with two minutes to spare. Two hours had passed since then and Arthur was having a difficult time paying attention. He and Merlin had stayed up so late reviewing he was having trouble hiding his yawns. He snuck a glance at his watch. They would be ending any minute now. _Thank God_. Arthur thought. He sifted through his files for the one he would need next with the party from Dubai. It wasn't there. Trying not to panic, he leaned over to Merlin.

"Do you have the files for the Dubai meeting?" He asked. Merlin rifled through his papers.

"Nope, sorry," he whispered back. "They must still be in the room."

_Of course_. Arthur groaned. Finally, the closing remarks were made and as the different groups moved about the table, Arthur ducked from the room and ran for the elevator. He was so preoccupied that he didn't even realize that the hotel room door was wide open when he arrived. A cart full of linens and towels stood outside. Not having time to care, he strode into the room.

* * *

><p>Gwen was just finishing changing the sheets on the bed next to the window when a man burst in. Without speaking, he started rifling through the file folders she had straightened on the table. Unsure of what was happening, Gwen decided to address him.<p>

"Excuse me? Can I help you with something?" Instantly she mentally kicked herself. _Not everyone speaks English, especially in France._ She opened her mouth to repeat her question in French when the man cut her off.

"There were some papers here, what have you done with them?" Taken aback by his curt words, Gwen took a moment to answer, replying in an equally frigid tone.

"I've done nothing, _sir_, but place everything on that table as you see it now so I could do my job." Finished with the room, Gwen made to leave but something made her turn back as she reached the doorway. The man was running his fingers through his blond hair, making it stand up on end. Now that she actually paid attention, she noticed he looked harried. Sighing, Gwen went back over to him.

"What exactly are you looking for?" She asked. He turned sharply, shocked to see that she had returned before recovering an instant later.

"A folder stamped Dubai," he replied. Gwen took the stack from the table and handed him half. Together they quickly searched the files.

"Here, is this it?" Gwen held the folder apart from the rest.

"Yes!" The man grabbed the folder and bolted from the room.

"You're welcome," Gwen muttered irritably to the empty hallway.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you all so much for your kind words and for reading the first chapter! I figured I would get the next one out now as I'm about to start a new job so things will slow down. Also, I'm still figuring out formatting on this site so I hope it all makes sense. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>The next morning, one of the kitchen staff was sick so Gwen offered to help out before her shift in housekeeping started. Gwen had been told to expect a lot of people as a diplomatic conference was being held over the course of the week.<p>

_They weren't kidding about all the people,_ Gwen thought as she maneuvered the tables asking if anyone wanted tea or coffee. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another couple of people enter the already full dining room and squeeze in near the back. She finished asking the room number of the table in front of her and then made for the new table on her way back to the kitchen.

"Bonjour, thé ou café ce matin?" She asked, turning from one patron to the other where she felt a jolt go through her. Sitting before her was the same rude man from yesterday. His eyes widened as he recognized her as well.

"Coffee," the older man sitting with him said, breaking Gwen's trance.

"Yes, coffee please."

Gwen thought he might say more but she didn't give him the chance. Flustered, she only nodded as she retreated to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Arthur watched as the maid from yesterday disappeared from view. His father was saying something about the conference but he wasn't really listening.<p>

He had wanted to say more but she had positively run from the room. He knew that he had acted poorly yesterday and wanted to apologize for his behaviour. Merlin often told him that, even after all the years they had known each other, he still acted like an arrogant prat. Arthur supposed Merlin was right—not that he would ever admit it out loud.

Arthur was glad to see the maid again today when he and his father walked into the dining room. He had hoped to run into her again and set things right, if only at least to ease his conscience. Now, with his father's voice as background noise, Arthur surreptitiously watched her as she moved about the tables with effortless grace. He hadn't noticed before but she was quite pretty with her hair falling in tight, dark curls and the deep brown eyes that had widened in surprise when she had recognized him.

"Arthur!" Uther's sharp tone snapped Arthur back to the present. He focused on his father, who was now staring at Arthur, an expression of irritation written across his face.

"Have you heard a word that I've said?" Uther asked.

"Of course," Arthur replied, thinking that he would just get Merlin to explain everything to him later.

* * *

><p>Most of the lights in the hotel had been turned off now as Gwen made her way with the vacuum to the ballroom. The last meeting there had ended half an hour ago and the hotel's hallways were silent in the semi-dark. Though she didn't much enjoy split shifts, there was something about working in the evening that made it worth it. Maybe it was the silence that allowed her to actually hear her own thoughts. She thought again of what had happened that morning at breakfast. The rude man—as she thought of him—had been going to say something else and, from the look in his eyes, she had thought he had been about to apologize. The expression had been so different from their previous encounter that Gwen hadn't any idea how to handle it.<p>

_Maybe he's not as awful as you thought_, she pondered as she pushed open the ballroom door with her back. She was about to put her portable speakers down on the floor when she realized she was not alone in the room.

There was a man sitting at the round table, a glass and bottle sitting in front of him. Just as Gwen's luck would have it, it was the same man from earlier. Both times she had seen him now, he had seemed like two different people: terse and harsh, soft-spoken and perhaps kind? Wondering what kind of mood she had caught him in tonight, Gwen slowly approached the table.

"Are you alright?" She asked tentatively. He sighed heavily before swinging his head up to look at her, letting out a snort when he did.

"Are you following me?" He poured some of the liquid in the bottle into the glass with a slightly unsteady hand.

_Great, _Gwen thought, _he's drunk_. She thought of how to handle this situation. She couldn't very well leave him here all night but she couldn't remember which room he had burst in on her the day before. For now, she thought she would try to get the bottle away from him. A good decision, she determined, as he downed the contents of the glass in one gulp. Slowly, she sunk down into the chair next to him.

"To answer your question," he said suddenly. "No, I'm not alright." He reached for the bottle again but Gwen got to it first, sliding it out of his reach. He gave her a dark look but didn't do anything more. In an attempt to get his mind off the alcohol, Gwen got him to talk instead.

"Do you want to talk about why you're not alright?" She asked.

"Can't. Not really," he said. "Secrecy and diplomacy and all that." He sounded bitter.

"You don't have to tell me specifics."

He seemed to consider that for a moment before speaking again.

"My father and I had an argument. We have different opinions of how we should proceed with one of the meetings tomorrow. If he could just see that I know what I'm doing—I can help!" He slapped his hand down on the table, causing Gwen to jump. He looked at her, contrition appearing behind the glassy sheen over his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just—I want to be useful," he said quietly, running a hand through his hair.

"That's perfectly valid," Gwen said, suddenly wishing there was something she could do to make him less miserable. "Maybe start small. Instead of the whole meeting, see if there are a few points that you can take control of and work your way up from there."

"That might work," he said. "Thank you, erm—"

"Gwen, short for Guinevere."

"Guinevere." The way he whispered her name sent a shiver down her spine. Not wanting to think about that, Gwen moved on.

"Yes, and your name?"

"My name is—"

"Arthur!"

Both Gwen and the man turned to see another person standing in the doorway, the light from the hallway casting a shadow on his slight frame.

"I have been looking for you everywhere," his cheery voice echoing off the walls of the ballroom as he approached the table. "Sorry about him, he gets like this sometimes, you know," he dropped his voice theatrically. "_Melodramatic_." Gwen giggled as she looked at Arthur who was now staring daggers at the other man.

"Merlin…" he said in a warning tone as Merlin slung one of Arthur's arms over his shoulder and hoisted him up.

"Well, I'll just get him out of your way then," Merlin said, leading Arthur towards the door. Gwen watched as Arthur turned and smiled softly at her as Merlin pulled him from the room. She remained in her place at the table a moment longer before returning to the vacuum she had left near the door.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Sorry it's taken me so long! New jobs are so stressful but I think I'm getting into it. Things really start to change after this chapter and I'm really looking forward to seeing where it all goes! Thank you all for reading, the appreciation is amazing!

* * *

><p>Arthur drummed his fingers nervously on the table as he waited. He wasn't even sure if she would come back, she might not have even worked today. He hadn't seen her at all—not that he had been actively searching, of course. Twice now, he had made a fool of himself in front of her and he just wanted a proper chance to explain himself.<p>

_Guinevere_. Her name had been running through his mind all day; he couldn't seem to get her out of his head. Even Merlin had noticed something different. After he had dragged Arthur from the ballroom last night, Merlin had asked about her.

_"__Who was that?"_

_"__Who was who?"_

_"__Come on, Arthur. (Sigh.) The girl, who was she?"_

_"__Guinevere. (Pause.) I was an ass to her."_

_"__I'm not surprised; you'll want to drink a lot of water before going to sleep."_

_"__Shut up, Merlin."_

_"__So, you going to see her again?"_

_"__I don't know, can we not talk about this?"_

When Arthur had told Merlin to go on without him at the end of the last meeting today, he had seen a twinkle in his best friend's eyes that said Merlin knew exactly what he was doing. Scowling, he muttered to himself about lousy friends and how difficult it was to find good assistants. He was so focused that he didn't even realize that the door to the ballroom had opened until he heard a clatter coming from that direction.

_Guinevere_. Arthur jumped up as she turned and saw him. She held the door open with her shoulder and was trying to haul the vacuum through with one hand while the other held what looked like a small portable speaker. Arthur hurried over to help.

"Thank you," Gwen said once they were both in the room. Arthur shook his head.

"It's no problem," he said, smiling.

"Clearly you're in better spirits than when I last saw you."

Arthur cringed remembering the previous evening. This time he was determined to make a better impression.

"Yes, thanks to you. Look," he ran a hand though his hair. "I'm sorry about the way I've treated you these past two days. I was stressed and tired but there's really no excuse for my behaviour."

Gwen seemed to deliberate for a moment, drawing out Arthur's agony. Then, she smiled. It appeared to him the most brilliant, joyful gesture he had ever seen.

"I accept your apology, of course," said Gwen. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll have to ask you to leave." She nodded her head at the vacuum. "I do still have work to do."

"Let me help," Arthur said.

"Oh no, I couldn't—"

"It's the least I can do."

Gwen laughed at that and Arthur instantly started thinking of other ways he could make her laugh.

"Alright, you can flip the chairs and put them on the tables so I can get under them with the vacuum."

They worked together in silence until Arthur ended up near the door. He placed the chair he was holding on the table and then walked over to where Gwen had dropped her portable speaker. It was attached to an iPod so Arthur turned it on. Suddenly, the room was filled with soft guitar chords and a keening male voice.

_What will become of the truth, when we keep it in?_

Gwen jumped at the sound and turned to Arthur who held out his hand to her. Everything seemed to shift then. Time moved slower as Gwen's hand met Arthur's and he pulled her closer.

_Maybe this is my heart and, maybe it is yours._

Together they danced as the song carried them through a world all their own. Nothing existed outside that moment. Gwen relaxed against Arthur's chest as he let his cheek rest on the top of her head.

_Oh we go where, we don't know the way. Fire meets fire, it's all the same._

Arthur wished the moment could last forever but inevitably, the song was coming to an end. Gwen shook her head slightly as if waking from a daydream. She looked up at Arthur, her eyelids heavy and her lips parted. A strange emotion swept through him; he felt like telling all the world about this beautiful girl and yet wanted to keep her all to himself.

"Guinevere, I—"

He didn't get any further as Gwen yanked herself from his arms. She looked shocked and confused. Arthur took a step towards her, wanting to comfort her from whatever had upset her but she took a step back; and then another until she was backing away from him and fleeing the ballroom, leaving Arthur standing alone in the dark.

_If I want to leave, I will, stand on my feet, I do. Only takes these words you, never believe are true._

* * *

><p>AN2: The song used at the end here is Wild Country by Wake Owl. (It's a lovely song and I recommend you all listen to this band.)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Wow it's been a long time since I updated! I've been wildly busy with having two jobs for three weeks. (Film sets take up a lot of time and energy.) But I have recovered sufficiently to continue so here we go!

* * *

><p>Three weeks had passed since the conference in France. Arthur had thrown himself into work with a passion that had Merlin's eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. He had tried a few times to get Arthur to talk but was always met with a stony face and eventually the 'forbidden' subject was dropped. Arthur was more than happy to take on as much of the work that he could that came at the end of the conference as it took his mind off Gwen. Her face would still float through his mind once in a while, causing a strange pang to shoot through his chest, but he was getting better at ignoring it. Sort of.<p>

A loud knocking at his door made Arthur look up sharply. He had asked that no one disturb him today. Exasperated, he called out to whoever was there that they could enter, hoping this wouldn't take long.

Expecting Merlin with some asinine problem, Arthur was surprised when his sister, Morgana, strode through the door.

"Morgana, what are you—" Arthur began but broke off when another person followed her in.

Lancelot du Lac was an associate with the French diplomatic party. Arthur had met him a few times before, finding the other man to be incredibly amiable. He spoke with a gravity that lent itself to deep discussions, a quality Arthur appreciated when Merlin was goofing off or simply wasn't around. If they lived closer, Arthur was sure that he and Lancelot would be very good friends. Now, Lancelot entered Arthur's office, smiling as Arthur stood to greet him.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Arthur laughed.

"Just my job," Lancelot replied. "The French are sending emissaries to each of the parties that participated and I requested to be the one to come over to England."

"Well, it certainly is good to see you again," Arthur said. "Are you staying long?"

"Not very. I'll be in and out of the embassies for the next three days while also helping my girlfriend look for somewhere to live."

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yes, she used to live here in London and has decided to return."

"Well if you aren't too busy with all of that, I'm meeting some friends this evening for a drink if you want to join us. Bring your girlfriend; Morgana will be with us as well, won't you?" Arthur said, finally addressing his sister. Morgana rolled her eyes at him but her smile indicated she wasn't bothered by his ignoring her until now.

"Of course I will. Actually Arthur, I just came by to make sure you were coming to dinner on Sunday? Father is insisting but I figured you would probably prefer to hear it from me than him."

"Yes, Morgana, thank you. Tell him I will be there," Arthur said. Morgana nodded, then said goodbye, leaving Arthur and Lancelot alone. They talked a little before Lancelot announced that he had to go but that he would definitely catch up with Arthur and his friends later that evening. After he left, Arthur hummed to himself; this would be the perfect distraction to take his mind off Gwen.

* * *

><p>Arthur, Merlin, Morgana and few others had already been at the pub a half hour when Lancelot showed up. He apologized for being late but everyone waved it off. Arthur made all the introductions.<p>

"So you know Merlin and Morgana already. This is Gwaine, Percival and Leon," he said, pointing out each person around the table.

"Yeah, and, fair warning," said Percival. "We are limiting Gwaine's alcohol consumption tonight and making sure he doesn't get us kicked out again." The others all chuckled.

"Hey, just because I got in a fight last week—"

"It was a pretty big fight, mate," Leon interjected.

"I was not letting a woman get treated like that, whether she knew him or not." Frowning, Gwaine took a swig of his beer. The friends were silent for a minute before Percival spoke again.

"Yeah we know. And you know we all backed you up. Just—if it happens again—wait until you're outside to start throwing punches, eh?" He clapped Gwaine on the shoulder and like that, the tension dissipated. Small conversations broke out and Arthur leaned over to Lancelot.

"Sorry about that. This is a regular occurrence with them. Want to protect everyone. Anyways, I thought you said your girlfriend was coming too?"

"She is, she just had a later shift at work. She should actually be here soon…oh, there she is." He nodded towards the door. Arthur turned his head but whatever he had been expecting, this was not it. It felt like all the air had been sucked from his lungs and his heart had sunk down into his stomach. Lancelot stood to guide her over and introduce her.

"Everyone, this is…"

"Guinevere," Arthur whispered. No one heard him, the others were all focused on Lancelot as he introduced her to the group, but her head turned as if she had. Her eyes widened in shock and what looked like a moment of guilt. She looked just as surprised to see him as he was her, and even less pleased. This night had just gotten much longer.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I know it's been forever! To make up for it I'm posting the next chapter as well and that's when things really happen! Thanks as always for reading!

* * *

><p>"Cenred has a man staying in Belgrave; I want you to go make sure he is settled in."<p>

"You mean you want me to go spy on him," Arthur said, his arms folded as he stared across the room at his father. "I'll go and say hello but I'm not asking any prying questions. You'll have to get someone else to do that."

Before Uther could say anything else, Arthur backed out of the office. It had been two months since the awkward reunion – if one could even call it that – at the pub. Arthur and Gwen had spent most of the night avoiding eye contact before Merlin had announced he was tired and was going home early. Arthur had used that as his excuse to leave as well. Since then he hadn't even tried to not think of her. Usually it was harmless enough; he wondered what sort of job she had, if she had settled back into life in London, whether he might run into her on the street. But sometimes, other thoughts wormed their way into his mind, into his dreams. He would be taken back to that last night in Paris when they had danced together except that this time, she didn't run from him when he bent his head to kiss her. Instead, she responded, wrapping her arms more tightly around his neck and sighing as she kissed him back. And always, he woke from these dreams extremely unsettled.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Arthur collected Merlin and the two of them walked over to the hotel when Cenred's diplomat was staying. They we so deep in conversation that Arthur didn't even realize he had walked right up to the front desk until the girl behind it waved her hand in front of his face.

"Arthur! What are you doing here?" Gwen asked. Arthur did a double take before answering her with a question himself.

"I should ask you that. Why are you here?"

"I work here."

"Well I can see that but I thought you would be in housekeeping."

Gwen smacked him on the shoulder across the counter but she smiled as she did. "I want to be a manager or possibly an owner one day, so I've been trying to do as many different jobs in different hotels to get an understanding of how it all works together." She suddenly looked embarrassed to have said so much but Arthur was impressed by her ambition and her approach. He found himself wanting to know more but unfortunately, the real reason for his appearance here was quickly recalled as Merlin interjected.

"That's really cool, Gwen," he said earnestly. "And I'm sure we will have to catch up and hear all about it but right now we've been sent over to check up on a Spaniard."

Gwen laughed. "Of course, I'll let him know you're here to see him." She called up to the man's room and then there was nothing else to do but wait.

"So," Arthur began awkwardly. He wasn't sure what he was going to say but he knew what topics he should avoid. "How are things with Lancelot?" _Damnit._

Gwen blushed and looked away. Glancing at Merlin he saw pity in his friend's eyes. A moment later, Gwen had composed herself.

"Sorry, it's still a bit difficult to talk about. Lancelot and I broke up, you see."

Arthur was shocked. The couple had seemed happy only a few months ago. But while he was feeling sorry for Gwen, another part of his mind –the insidious part – was racing. Remembering.

Thankfully, the Spanish diplomat showed up and Arthur switched into work mode. Just before though, he leaned over and whispered to Gwen, hoping she could hear the truth in his words.

* * *

><p>Gwen watched as Arthur Pendragon walked away from the desk. She was still reeling from the moment in which he had leaned in close, his eyes sorrowful as he said "I'm so sorry," so quietly she wasn't even sure that was what he had said. He would never know how much that sounded like he knew.<p>

Gwen had loved Lancelot but after moving back to London, she found that their relationship just wasn't working anymore, what with him being in Paris. Although, if she was really honest with herself – something she tried to avoid when she thought of her breakup – she knew that the problems had started well before, back when a conference had been held and an arrogant consul had burst into her life.

She had been mortified at her behaviour over the course of that week but something about the memory always gave her a glowy feeling, as if everything had finally fallen into place. It had taken tremendous effort, but finally, three weeks ago, when Lancelot had visited last, she had ended their relationship. Lancelot had been upset of course, but he had known something was wrong. He had left saying that he wished her all the best but he hoped never to see her again. Sometimes Gwen wished she could walk away from herself too, but the pain had healed to an occasional ache now. And the man who had pulled her in so mysteriously was before her again, as if some cosmic force was drawing them together, but to what end?


	6. Chapter 6

AN: So we are getting there! Only two more chapters after this one (I think) and then I will finally have written my first full fic. I'm really looking forward to seeing how things progress in the next few chapters. I got really into writing this one. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Arthur walked into his apartment to two girls, doubled over on his couch with laughter.<p>

"Morgana, what are you doing here?" He asked. Morgana tried to pull herself together enough to answer as Gwen kept on giggling.

"Telly…at my place…broken," Morgana gasped. It was then that Arthur noticed the television that was playing some romantic comedy. He sighed heavily; this was not the scene he had been hoping to come home to.

Since the day he and Merlin had met Gwen again in the hotel, she and Morgana had become very good friends, as Arthur knew they would. It wasn't really much of a surprise to see them there. He just wished it hadn't been today.

Arthur's feelings for Gwen hadn't diminished over time. If anything, they only grew stronger as she became a more permanent part of his life. He would never dream of telling her though. From what he could tell, she thought of his as her friend and the incident in Paris was nothing more now than a distant memory, like a dream you only half remember upon waking up.

Now, he set down his bag and shrugged out of his coat before going into his bedroom to change out of his work clothes. Just as he was tugging a jumper over his head, his phone rang. A sharp pang of panic shot through him and he bolted out into the living room.

"…really?" Morgana was saying, an unreadable expression across her face. She had the phone to her ear and Arthur prayed whoever had called was not the person he was thinking it was.

"Right, well, thanks Merlin," _Shit._ "I'll be sure to tell him." Morgana hung up and swung around to stare at Arthur who was now trying to hide around the other side of the wall. "Just when were you going to tell us that you're going to Dubai tomorrow?" _Double shit._

"Dubai?" Gwen asked. Arthur had totally forgotten for a moment she was there too. _Triple—oh for God's sake._

"Yeah," he said slowly, trying to sound nonchalant. "It's just for a week to finish up the agreement we drew up in Paris. Everyone who was at the conference is going." Morgana kept staring at him a few seconds longer. Then, her face relaxed.

"Well, we should probably help you pack then."

* * *

><p>Seven days later, Gwen was sitting with Morgana on the same couch, watching a made-for-tv movie. They were waiting for Arthur to get home and surprise him with a home-cooked dinner. It had been Gwen's suggestion but Morgana had been the one to call the hotel in Dubai to make sure of when Arthur and Merlin would be checking out and what flight they were catching back to London as well as make sure that Merlin would come back to Arthur's apartment first.<p>

Gwen assumed that whatever feelings Arthur might have had for her had now disappeared, but that didn't mean that hers had. She still felt conflicted about the start of their friendship but they were in a good place now, good friends and she was content to keep it that way, rather than risk losing everything between them.

The movie ended and, in the few minutes between the credits and the start of the next one, Gwen flipped through the channels. _Celebrity scandal—teen drama—bombing in Dubai—teen drama—._ Gwen froze before flipping back up to the news. A huge red bar across the bottom read BREAKING NEWS and there was a video of half a building, on fire, smoke pouring from the black hole in the side of the edifice.

"_Panic in the streets of Dubai this morning as a bomb exploded during a diplomatic meeting between multiple parties from Europe and the Middle East. The identity of the bomber is unknown as well as the number of casualties. We will continue to update as more information is released."_

The newscaster moved onto something else but Gwen didn't hear what she was saying. _A bomb. Dubai. Diplomatic meeting._ Her mind reeled at the implications but she couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true.

Morgana came around from the kitchen a few minutes later. Gwen hadn't moved; she remained frozen in her spot, tears spilling from her eyes that she didn't bother to wipe away. Morgana looked at the television which was recapping the bombing and then back at Gwen. Everything tilted. The world shattered.


End file.
